Ukrainian stress is free (it can fall on any syllable) and mobile (it can move as a word changes form). It is not shown in ordinary writing, so a learner has to get it from somewhere. Every word page on this site shows it with an acute accent: мі́сто, говори́ти.
How much to trust the marks
The stress column was compiled from the open lang-uk dictionary and both Wiktionaries, with every manual decision recorded. It was then checked against a third, independent source, Daniel Klinger's open Ukrainian dictionary. Of the 8,486 words both sources stress, 99.8% agree. 129 more words are listed as taking either stress.
Where they disagree
These are all 16 disagreements, published rather than hidden:
| Word | This list | The dictionary | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| проект | проє́кт | прое́кт | spelling variant |
| черговий | чергови́й | черго́вий | dictionary |
| само | са́мо | само́ | dictionary |
| все-таки | все́-таки | все-таки́ | dictionary |
| унаслідок | уна́слідок | унаслі́док | dictionary |
| Данило | Дани́ло | Данило́ | proper noun |
| Миколай | Микола́й | Мико́лай | proper noun |
| Олійник | Олі́йник | Олійни́к | proper noun |
| нульовий | нульови́й | нульо́вий | adjudicated |
| Аліна | А́ліна | Алі́на | proper noun |
| Володар | Во́лодар | воло́да́р | proper noun |
| минулорічний | минулорі́чний | минулорічни́й | adjudicated |
| Поділ | Поді́л | по́діл | proper noun |
| поверх | пове́рх | по́верх | adjudicated |
| підданий | пі́дданий | підда́ний | dictionary |
| черговий | чергови́й | черго́вий | dictionary |
"Spelling variant" means the two sources spell the word differently (проєкт is the current spelling); "proper noun" covers names; "adjudicated" means the list's choice was made by hand against the evidence and is recorded with a reason.
Practical rules
- Learn every word with its stress from the start; there is no rule that predicts it reliably.
- Watch for pairs that differ only by stress, like за́мок: за́мок is a castle, замо́к a lock.
- Listen: most word pages for the common words carry open audio from Wikimedia Commons.
The full column, its sources and its audit are in the stress study.